San Diego Classic Film Calendar

Friday, May 6, 2016

A Kilt, and No, Not Scottish

On occasion, I wear a kilt. I got my first one about 8 or 10 years ago. To be honest I was a little leery. At the time, I was mid-40s and 40 or so pounds heavier than I should be. I didn't want to be another middle-aged fat guy wearing a kilt because he thinks he's cooler than the other middle aged fat guys. I told my wife about it before I got one, and she was fine with it. If she thought I'd look stupid or anything I know she would have told me.Still, I wasn't sure, so I asked someone else, a woman friend I'd known for years. Whenever we talk, it's about half talking and half flirting, so I figured she'd give me the answer I was looking for. I explained the middle-aged fat guy thing, and she said no, she thought I should go for it. I was good-looking and carry myself with confidence, she said. She was sure I could pull it off, so I got my first kilt. She was right. I could pull it off. Whenever I wear one, I almost always get compliments from women, and sometimes men. I get more looks from women as well. Sometimes the women will ask if I'm regimental (not wearing underwear). I usually ask if they want to check. I've had a few take me up on it. Any article of clothing that encourages women to fondle your junk or butt depending on whether they come in the front or back is okay in my book.I said earlier that I wear a kilt on occasion. The occasions tend to be certain events. I rarely wear one when I'm just running around. I go to a fair number of conventions, Comic-Con, Wonder Con, science fiction and steampunk cons, and so on, and I wear a kilt a least some of the time I'm at almost any convention. Also, my wife and I go dancing at a Goth club, and I almost always wear a kilt to go dancing.About a week ago, I went to the TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF). I've always thought of TCMFF sort of like Comic-Con for old film geeks. You have people who are really passionate about old movies, but it's as much bonding with other people who feel the same way about classic film as it is about the films themselves. At TCMFF, there is an opening night party and a closing night party, and people usually dress up for both. I usually wear a suit or white dinner jacket opening night and a kilt on closing night.There's one big difference between TCMFF and other fan conventions. Most people at fan conventions go to other conventions. People at Comic-Con are likely to have been to other similar events, science fiction conventions, Renn Faires, etc. I just realized that a lot of people at TCMFF have not been to other fan conventions. The reason I go into all of this is the relationship to kilts. At Comic-Con or other fan conventions, you see a fair number of kilts, maybe not a lot, but definitely more than other events, like say, a baseball game. At TCMFF, I think there was just one other guy wearing a kilt.I ended up getting two types of comments at TCMFF, compliments like I normally get and I'm used to, but I had at least three or four people ask if I was Scottish, something I never hear at Comic-Con or similar events. I answered something that was close to what they asked. While I was at TCMFF, I got a text message from my sister. She had her DNA tested. Our family background is mostly German, so it was surprising that her DNA came in at just over half British and Irish. I knew that we had some Scottish and Irish in the family, but I always thought it was a small fraction. At least not the 50%, that showed up in my sister's DNA tests. So with this in mind, when asked if I was Scottish, I said that the family was mostly German but had some Scottish, but that my sister's DNA indicated that it was more than just some. Last night, it dawned on me that the people at TCMFF who asked about me being Scottish were not asking because they wanted to know my family background. They want me to justify why I was wearing a kilt. I'm white. I'm male. I'm presumably straight. If I'm wearing a kilt, I must be Scottish. Nothing could be further from the truth. I wear a kilt because I like it. If I'm wearing a pair of jeans, I don't get women coming up to me and saying they like my jeans but I do in a kilt. So since the people asking about the kilt and being Scottish want me to justify why I wear it, the next time I'm going to do just that. I'm going to tell them I wear a kilt not because of being Scottish but because I like the attention I get from women. Even the ones who ask if I'm Scottish.